The Tradition (poetry collection)

The Tradition is a 2019 poetry collection by American poet Jericho Brown.^[2]

The Tradition

L. Ralphi Burgess, You're in the Middle of the World, ca. 2017, acrylic and mixed media, 18" × 25"[1]
Author	Jericho Brown
Audio read by	JD Jackson
Cover artist	Lauren Ralphi Burgess
Language	English
Genre	Poetry
Publisher	Copper Canyon Press
Publication date	April 2, 2019
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (paperback and hardcover), e-book
Pages	110 (paperback)
Awards	Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (2020)
ISBN	978-1-55659-486-1 (paperback)
OCLC	1113894902
Dewey Decimal	811/.6
LC Class	PS3602.R699 A6 2019
Preceded by	The New Testament

The collection won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.^[3] Judges of the prize called the book "a collection of masterful lyrics that combine delicacy with historical urgency in their loving evocation of bodies vulnerable to hostility and violence."^[4]

Contents

I

• "Ganymede"
• "As a Human Being"
• "Flower"
• "The Microscopes"
• "The Tradition"
• "Hero"
• "After Another Country"
• "The Water Lilies"
• "Foreday in the Morning"
• "The Card Tables"
• "Bullet Points"
• "Duplex"
• "The Trees"
• "Second Language"
• "After Avery R. Young"
• "A Young Man"

II

• "Duplex"
• "Riddle"
• "Good White People"
• "Correspondence"
• "Trojan"
• "The Legend of Big and Fine"
• "The Peaches"
• "Night Shift"
• "Shovel"
• "The Long Way"
• "Dear Whiteness"
• "Of the Swan"
• "Entertainment Industry"
• "Stake"
• "Layover"

III

• "Duplex"
• "Of My Fury"
• "After Essex Hemphill"
• "Stay"
• "A.D."
• "Turn You Over"
• "The Virus"
• "The Rabbits"
• "Monotheism"
• "Token"
• "The Hammers"
• "I Know What I Love"
• "Crossing"
• "Deliverance"
• "Meditations at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park"
• "Dark"
• "Duplex"
• "Thighs and Ass"
• "Cakewalk"
• "Stand"
• "Duplex: Cento"

Reception

At the review aggregator website Book Marks, which assigns individual ratings to book reviews from mainstream literary critics, the collection received a cumulative "Rave" rating based on 18 reviews: 12 "Rave" reviews, 5 "Positive" reviews, and 1 "Mixed" review.^[5]

Publishers Weekly called it "searing" and wrote that Jericho's duplex form "yields compelling results".^[6]

Elizabeth Lund of The Washington Post called it "compelling and forceful because it wonderfully balances the dark demands of memory and an indomitable strength."^[7]

Awards and recognition

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref
2019	National Book Award	Poetry	Longlisted	[8][9][10]
2019	National Book Critics Circle Award	Poetry	Shortlisted	[11]
2020	Lambda Literary Award	Gay Poetry	Shortlisted	[12]
2020	Pulitzer Prize	Poetry	Won	[13]

Publication history

• The Tradition (paperback ed.). Copper Canyon Press. April 2, 2019. ISBN 978-1-55659-486-1. 110pp.
• The Tradition (hardcover ed.). Copper Canyon Press. February 4, 2020. ISBN 978-1-55659-602-5. 96pp.

References

1. Jericho Brown (June 18, 2019). The Tradition. Copper Canyon Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-61932-195-3.
2. "The Tradition by Jericho Brown". Copper Canyon Press. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
3. "2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners". www.pulitzer.org.
4. Maher, John (May 4, 2020). "Moser, Whitehead, McDaniel, Grandin, Boyer, Brown Win 2020 Pulitzers". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
5. "Book Marks reviews of The Tradition by Jericho Brown". Book Marks. Literary Hub. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
6. "Poetry Book Review: The Tradition by Jericho Brown". Publishers Weekly. April 15, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
7. Lund, Elizabeth (April 8, 2019). "Listen up: Four poets have something to say about race, gender and violence". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
8. "2019 National Book Awards Longlist for Poetry". National Book Foundation. September 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
9. "The 2019 National Book Awards Longlist: Poetry". The New Yorker. September 18, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
10. Wappler, Margaret (September 18, 2019). "10 poets make the National Book Awards longlist". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
11. "2019 Winners & Finalists". National Book Critics Circle Award. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
12. "The Tradition, by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
13. Yee, Katie (March 10, 2020). "Here are the finalists for the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards!". Literary Hub. Retrieved May 13, 2020.